As Thanksgiving comes around again…I want to remind people to download AVA so that the deaf and hard of hearing ones can feel included in the conversations.
It matters…it makes a difference….it opens doors and it only costs you some space on your Smart phone

Be compassionate…be understanding..be generous..and do not use “dirty words”around the deaf.

Words like “never mind”….”it doesn’t matter”…”it’s no big deal”…”I’ll tell you later”….those words isolate us..but it also says so much about you…it shows selfishness,indifference, and inconsideration..so when you are asked to repeat,to explain, to share what made you break out in rambunctious laughter, please realize that it’s because we want to know, we feel comfortable enough asking, and that it matters to us.

For many years, I would just smile on cue,nob my head and try my best to read lips and not draw attention to myself…because I didn’t want to be “too much trouble”…I was isolated and lonely and frustrated at every gathering….
Now with AVA I can be included, I can catch things I always missed, and I can participate.
It isn’t perfect but it’s pretty damn close…and the right people make it perfect.

This Thanksgiving I’m grateful that I am hard of hearing..and I listen with my eyes, my heart, and what my ears can hear….and I am grateful for technology like AVA and for my family and friends that never use dirty words.
If you are hearing…I want you to reflect….you can recognize voices….hear the lyrics to a song….pick up an phone and call a doctor,a repairman,a friend…..you hear the sirens, the ambulance….you hear the water running in the sink….you hear the waitress joke…you overhear the lovers quarrel, the baby babble, the old man whisper….you hear the rain fall and you hear the sound’s of leaves rustling….
Be thankful…be aware….be in absolute awe….how sweet the sound……

I don’t hear much of that..but I do hear kindness…I do hear music..I do hear love…I do hear the birds…I hear the good….and I hear enough to be grateful,to be aware,and to be in awe. How sweet the sound of what I hear.

That’s why I use Ava, a great app to transcribe in real-time group conversations and better include deaf & hard-of-hearing people 👍